Moving to the UK from East Africa: Complete Guide

Three things that apply across the region

Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Zambia are Commonwealth member states; Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Burundi are not. That distinction matters for the UK Ancestry route and for registering to vote once you live in the UK. Almost everything else in this guide applies to the whole region, because all three of the published lists that shape an application treat East Africa the same way.

Every country here is a visa national

Every country in East Africa is on the visa national list, so a short visit needs a visitor visa applied for before you travel — the £20 Electronic Travel Authorisation is not an option for anyone from this region. A visitor visa costs £135 for 6 months, £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years and £1,128 for 10 years, and none of them permits work.

The Student and Skilled Worker visa brake

Since 26 March 2026 a Student visa application is refused if you are a national of Sudan — along with Afghanistan, Cameroon and Myanmar. Skilled Worker applications are refused for Afghan nationals. No other East African nationality is affected. This is a nationality bar, not a discretionary judgement, so no amount of preparation changes it.

Tuberculosis testing

Every East African country is on the tuberculosis test list: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. You need the test if all three of these are true:

• you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more
• you have lived in a listed country for 6 months or more, and
• you were living there, or in another listed country, within the last 6 months

It is a chest x-ray at a Home Office approved clinic, and the certificate lasts 6 months from the date of the x-ray. Children under 11 are not normally x-rayed. Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan have no approved clinic, so applicants living there have to be tested in another country — GOV.UK lists which ones. Separately, the test is needed for a stay of under 6 months if you are applying as a returning resident or as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner. GOV.UK publishes no price for the test; clinics set their own.

Document Requirements

Documents from East African countries must be originals, accompanied by certified English translations where the original is not in English. Ethiopian documents in Amharic and Somali documents require professional translation. Kenyan, Ugandan, and Tanzanian documents are often in English but may need legalisation through the relevant Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

An overseas criminal record certificate is not needed for every route. It is required for Skilled Worker applications in specified health, education and social care jobs, and for the adult partner of such an applicant, and it is needed from every country outside the UK where you have lived for 12 months or more, in one stretch or in total, in the last 10 years while aged 18 or over. Where it applies, the issuing body is:

• Kenya: Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)
• Uganda: Uganda Police Force
• Tanzania: Tanzania Police Force
• Ethiopia: Federal Police Commission
• Somalia: Where available, from the Federal Government of Somalia or regional state authorities

English Language

English is an official or working language in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. That has no bearing on the English language requirement. The Home Office works from a fixed list of majority English-speaking countries, and no East African country is on it. So you either take an approved English test or show a degree that was taught and examined in English, confirmed by UK ENIC, the national agency for comparing overseas qualifications.

The level depends on the route: B2 for a new Skilled Worker application since 8 January 2026, with B1 still accepted when you extend the same visa; A1 at the first family visa application, A2 at the extension after two and a half years, and B1 at settlement. From 26 March 2027 the settlement level rises from B1 to B2 on several routes, including Skilled Worker.

Visa Routes by Country

Kenya

The routes open to a Kenyan national are the Skilled Worker visa, the Student visa, and the Spouse and Family visa. Kenya is a Commonwealth country, so UK Ancestry is open to a Kenyan national with a qualifying grandparent.

Uganda and Tanzania

Both are Commonwealth countries, so the same set of routes applies, including UK Ancestry. Documents not in English — Swahili records in Tanzania, for instance — need a certified English translation.

Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan

None of these is a Commonwealth country, so UK Ancestry is not open to their nationals. The work, study and family routes are otherwise the same, with one nationality bar: a Student visa application from a Sudanese national has been refused since 26 March 2026. Documents in Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali or Arabic need a certified English translation.

Where someone is already in the UK and fears return, the route is the asylum process rather than a visa. Family already settled in the UK with protection status may be able to sponsor a partner or child to join them under refugee family reunion.

What the Skilled Worker route asks of the job

The Skilled Worker visa needs a certificate of sponsorship from an employer holding a Home Office sponsor licence, used within 3 months of being assigned. The job must then meet the published conditions:

• Salary. £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation code, whichever is higher. A lower threshold of £33,400 covers a defined set of cases, including new entrants and jobs on the Immigration Salary List. The Immigration Salary List gives you that lower threshold and a reduced fee — it does not reduce the going rate, which still applies in full.
• Skill level. Since 22 July 2025 a new applicant needs a job at graduate level (RQF 6). Jobs below that can only be sponsored where the occupation code sits on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, and Temporary Shortage List roles cannot bring dependants.
• Money. £1,270 held for 28 days, unless your sponsor certifies your maintenance or you have already been in the UK for 12 months.

If you change employer or role, you apply to update your visa and wait for the decision before starting the new job. Do not start work on the strength of an application you have only submitted.

Refugee and Asylum Pathways

There are two published protection routes:

• Asylum. You must be physically present in the UK to claim asylum; there is no way to apply from abroad. See our UK asylum guide.
• The UK Resettlement Scheme. The Home Office runs this with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR identifies someone in a camp or host country and refers them to the Home Office. There is no application you can make yourself, and no fee, because the referral does not come from you.

Two things about protection status have changed and are easy to get wrong. Permission granted on a protection claim made on or after 2 March 2026 lasts 30 months, not the 5 years granted before that, so it is extended rather than run straight through to settlement. And settlement with refugee or humanitarian protection status has no fee and no immigration health surcharge. GOV.UK's eligibility page for that route sets no Life in the UK test and no English language requirement for the person with protection status, although an adult dependant included in the application may need both. You can apply after 5 years in the UK with that status, and the decision usually comes within 6 months. The faster decision services are not available on it.

Commonwealth Advantages

Citizens of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania benefit from Commonwealth membership in several ways once they are living in the UK:

• Registering to vote. The rules differ across the UK. In England and Northern Ireland a Commonwealth citizen can register if they have permission to enter or stay, or do not need it. In Scotland and Wales anyone with permission to stay can register for devolved and local elections, whatever their nationality.
• UK Ancestry. The route is open to Commonwealth citizens, British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens, British nationals (overseas) and citizens of Zimbabwe. You need to be 17 or over, able to work and intending to work, with a grandparent born in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or in what is now Ireland before 31 March 1922. The visa costs £726 and lasts 5 years, with no employer sponsorship needed. A decision from outside the UK usually takes 3 weeks. See our UK Ancestry guide.

For a full explanation of Commonwealth rights, see our guide to Commonwealth citizens' rights in the UK.

The Path to Settlement

Most work and family routes lead to settlement, or indefinite leave to remain, after 5 years of continuous residence. It costs £3,226 for you and the same for each dependant, you can apply from 28 days before the 5 years is up, and the decision usually arrives within 6 months of giving your fingerprints and photograph. A change from 5 years to 10 years has been proposed but is not law, so the qualifying period may change.

After settlement you can apply for British citizenship once you have held it for 12 months — straight away if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, where the residence requirement is 3 years rather than 5. It costs £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee and usually takes up to 6 months; the faster decision services are not available for citizenship. You will need the Life in the UK test — £50, 24 questions in 45 minutes, pass mark 75%, and free of the test if you are under 18 or 65 or over — and English at B1.

Costs Overview

The main costs for a UK visa from East Africa include:

• Visitor visa: £135 for 6 months, £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years, £1,128 for 10 years.
• Skilled Worker from outside the UK: £819 for up to 3 years, £1,618 for longer; £628 and £1,235 for a job on the Immigration Salary List.
• Student: £558, and £558 for each dependant.
• Family visa as a partner, parent or child: £2,064 from outside the UK, £1,407 from inside, per person.
• UK Ancestry: £726.
• Immigration health surcharge: £1,035 a year, or £776 a year for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility and under-18s.
• Settlement: £3,226 per person, but no fee and no health surcharge with refugee or humanitarian protection status. Citizenship: £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee.
• Claiming asylum: free.
• Tuberculosis test, English test, translation and legalisation: GOV.UK publishes no price for any of these.

For a full breakdown, see our UK visa fees guide.

Next Steps

Identify your visa route and start gathering your documents early. Use our route-specific guides for detailed application guidance:

• Skilled Worker visa guide
• Student visa guide
• Spouse visa guide
• UK asylum guide
• Ancestry visa guide
• Commonwealth citizens' rights in the UK

For official information, visit the GOV.UK visa checker and GOV.UK asylum guidance.

Questions and answers